Eternal Snow
by Jennifer Darknight
Summary: In this simple snowfield, Neji draws a picture. A simple picture. But there's more than meets the eye...NejiSasu


Eternal Snow

Snow.

What the hell was he doing in a place like this? All shimmering with glistening, gently constructed ice, with a brisk wind blowing through his long flowing hair. His beige jacket was covered in floating flakes, and his face was bright red with the biting cold that stung his cheeks. The sun was already setting in the horizon, and the snowy ground crunched underneath each step, and his feet sunk in every time he lowered his boot into the soft stuff.

It didn't seem like him to be here, in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere, with nothing but an easel in one arm, and a sketchbook and pencil in the other. His gloved hands touched the wooden surface and the huge sketchbook gingerly as it sat there, and he sat in the stool that he had already set down, bringing his pencil to the paper and scratching off a few lines.

_A pair of black eyes, dark as the night…_

The snow was a symbol of purity, of the innocence of wintertime as the snow covered everything before spring so that everything could begin anew. It could begin all and end all, and spark the imaginations and fears of child and adult alike with just the simple fall of a snowflake. It would strip the leaves of the trees but at the same time give them an ethereal glow.

He scratched in a few more lines, and stared intently at the paper, as if to perfect the small incisions he was making into the blankness with his pencil.

_Shortish long raven hair swept over his face, hiding the tiniest hints of a smile on his lips…_

Winter was his favorite time of year, he remembered. Despite his cold demeanor, he would always run outside, throwing training as an excuse when he grabbed his coat, gloves, and boots, hurrying towards the forest clearing where nobody would be that time of year, and when Neji would catch up with him, he'd throw his superior smirk in his direction as he threw a snowball at his face.

Neji'd let it hit, of course. He liked the feeling of cold on his face, and as the snow mingled with his long hair…

He felt like he was alive.

_A dark blue coat with an icy scarf around his neck, flecked with snowflakes as remnants of thrown snowballs and fallen snow stuck to its surface…_

He looked like a kid then. Everytime snow came into the sky, Sasuke was already out the door, hurrying out the door to make it towards his favorite spot before someone saw him.

He always was so prideful. He wouldn't dare let anyone he didn't trust see him even so much as crack a half-smile, as if the Great Uchiha Sasuke's image could be destroyed by just that one glance.

A smile formed on Neji's lips, and his pencil started moving some more, and he didn't even notice his hair blowing a bit more than it needed to, and it whipping against his cheeks almost painfully in the sudden gust that blew past him.

_Blue pants worn with many days of training, torn slightly but not enough to invite him to the cold, brown buckled boots sitting half-covered in inches of snow… and a boy, standing next to him, white eyes closed, long black hair cascading down his shoulders…_

A sigh escaped the boy's lips, and he felt the coolness of the air press against his forehead, and chill the wetness that was sticking to his cheeks.

They used to turn it into training—ducking and jumping about, throwing snowballs at each other even when the cold turned unbearable…to them, the discomfort didn't even exist. They even let a few laughs out in the air at that time, though they were silent to all but themselves, heard only through silent lips and shining eyes.

Neji felt something in his heart pang. He shook it off, and wiped away some spare wetness from his cheeks again—it was starting to discomfort him with the cold and the winds blowing against him. He could also feel a warmth inside his hand, but he knew that it wasn't really there. He shook his head and focused his attention towards the sketchbook, his eyes lowering as he sketched a few more lines out with his pencil.

_Mittens and gloves met, fingers intertwined together as a single snowflake fell onto them, like a single cherry blossom on cup of green tea. Their bodies seemed to stand as one, the snow falling on them as if they were the only ones there, the only ones who truly existed…_

Neji could feel the warmth of the other boy's hand in his, but he tried to shake it away, telling himself that it would never happen again. It couldn't happen again…but the thought just wouldn't break free. His hands shook, and the pencil kept moving on its own, adding tiny details to the piece, moving this way and that, almost in a fury, but gentle enough to not rip the page.

But then, a feminine voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Neji-kun?"

Neji looked behind him, feeling not slightly relieved as the green eyes looked at him with a soft, tender glow.

"Sakura."

Sakura stepped forward, her eyes glancing around the area slowly, almost fondly. "It's been two years, hasn't it? Since that time?"

"Yeah."

She still didn't look at him, and for that moment, Neji couldn't look at the sketchbook, but could only look at her, glancing around at the landscape around him.

"Do you still miss him?"

Neji nodded, his eyes moving towards his lap, but his face hard as stone, saying nothing to her, despite the heavy, wet weight that held against his chest, grasping it and clenching it tight. It was almost suffocating him, burying him alive, as that beautiful, masculine face came into his mind, with the raven hair sweeping over his pale features and onyx eyes…

A hand clamped down on his shoulder…Sakura's. The dainty fingers squeezed his flesh, almost in a sympathetic motion, and he could almost see her eyes, dampened with worry and sadness, staring down at him with that wan smile on her face…

"But I think…" She said softly, "That even in that place where Sasuke-kun is…he misses you too. And he's waiting for you to come back to him someday. Somewhere where there's eternal snow."

"Eternal snow…"

Someplace where the snow always falls…

Where he would always be happy…

Yes, even in death…that's where Sasuke would be.


End file.
